December 21, 2018
The chairman of the Judiciary says the protests in France are part of the “Islamic awakening” and a development foreseen long ago by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi.
According to the Judiciary’s Mizan news agency, Judiciary Chairman Sadeq Larijani said Khamenehi had predicted years ago that the Islamic awakening, which most countries call the Arab spring, would not be limited to Muslim countries but would reach Europe. He did not explain how the French protests are related to Islam.
This is the latest in a string of statements by senior Iranian officials about the French protests. On December 3, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman complained of the harshness with which the French police treated the protesters and told reporters that France should “show restraint” in dealing with protests. This comment came despite the fact that Iran has said hundreds of times that foreign countries are illegally interfering in Iran’s domestic policy merely by making comments about it.
The Islamic Republic has used overwhelming force on many occasions in past decades to suppress student and other protests, especially the mass demonstrations in 2009, but also frequently in the past year of protests scattered all around the country.